Hong Kong Competition Commission to take several cases to court next year
Chairwoman Anna Wu insists they are not dragging their feet because the investigation process is time-consuming
A number of cases currently under investigation might be brought to court next year, Hong Kong’s competition watchdog said as the city marked the first anniversary of full implementation of the Competition Ordinance on Wednesday.
The cases are among nearly 1,900 complaints and inquiries the Competition Commission has received over the past year.
Wu said a common misconception was that one case applied to a single party. “Often when we investigate cartel behaviour, it involves five or six parties. So it’s like dealing with multiple cases at the same time.”
Chief executive officer Rose Webb said each complaint they received had to go through an initial assessment. Only 130 cases moved on to the second stage of further assessment.
“Even if we were not moving on at all, [the initial assessment] involves several months of research,” the Australian expert said.